The Colorado River – and the people that rely on it – are in a state of crisis. Climate change and overuse are taking a significant toll. Seven states must compromise and reach a solution to prevent the river from collapsing.In late 2023, tensions were running high between the major players in the water world as they convened at the annual Colorado River conference in Las Vegas. LAist Correspondent Emily Guerin was there, seeking to learn as much as she can about the people with the most power on the river, including a sharply-dressed 28-year-old from California. This episode comes to us from the podcast Imperfect Paradise, which is releasing a whole series on the Colorado River water crisis. SUPPORTDonate $10 per month and get our new “I axolotl questions” mug!Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKSAgriculture uses a lot of the Colorado River - what if we replaced that farmland with solar panels? Speaking of farms, most of the crops raised with Colorado River water don’t go to people. They go to cows. CREDITSThis episode was written and reported by Emily GuerinImperfect Paradise host: Antonia CereijidoFact-checking by Gabriel Dunatov. Mixing and Imperfect Paradise theme music by E. Scott Kelly with additional music by Andrew Eapen.Outside/In Host: Nate HegyiOutside/In Executive producer: Taylor QuimbyOur staff includes Justine Paradis and Felix PoonRebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand AudioOutside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public RadioSubmit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

You might associate it with the foil that wraps leftover pizza and the shiny craft beer cans sold in breweries, but aluminum is literally everywhere. Scoop up a handful of soil or gravel anywhere on Earth, and you’ll find atoms of bonded aluminum hidden inside. Over the past 150 years, that abundance has led production of the silvery metal to skyrocket (pun intended) and created an industry responsible for 2-3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But even before it was used in everything from airplanes to deodorant, the trade of aluminum minerals helped color the world, finance the Vatican, and led to the mass collection of human urine.In this episode, we’re piloting a new segment called “The Element of Surprise.” It’s all about the hidden histories behind the periodic table’s most unassuming atoms, isotopes, and molecules. And we’re kicking things off with aluminum.Editor's note: A previous version of this episode misstated the number of Allied casualties during a 1943 bombing campaign against a German cryolite factory, claiming all but one of 180 bombers were destroyed. In actuality, all but one of 180 bombers returned home safely. The episode has been corrected. SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKSThe World Economic Forum has published a number of studies and articles on the need to decarbonize the aluminum industry and the promising technologies that might help us get there. A few years ago, Alcoa announced plans to build a new aluminum smelting plant in Maniitsoq, Greenland. PBS’s POV released a documentary about how people there reckoned with the island’s colonial past as the project progressed, stalled, and eventually collapsed. The National Park Service has a fun little read about the Washington Monument’s aluminum tip. Sean Adams, at the University of Florida, wrote an excellent recap of the U.S. government’s antitrust case against aluminum giant Alcoa. Here’s another one from Foreign Policy about how industrial cartels and monopolies helped Hitler gain power. Check out Charlie Halloran’s “The Alcoa Sessions,” to imagine what kind of music might have been played during Alcoa’s cruise voyages between New Orleans and Jamaica between 1949 and 1959. CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported, mixed, and produced by Taylor QuimbyMixed by Taylor QuimbyEditing by Rebecca Lavoie, with help from Nate Hegyi and Felix PoonOur staff includes Justine Paradis Executive producer: Taylor QuimbyRebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand AudioMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, Ryan James Carr, and L.M. StylesOutside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public RadioSubmit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

When officials commissioned a set of updated hazard maps for Juneau, Alaska, they thought the information would help save lives and spur new development. Instead, the new maps drew public outcry from people who woke up to discover their homes were at risk of being wiped out by landslides.What’s followed has been a multiyear project – not to address the challenges posed by climate-fueled landslides – but to alter, ignore, or otherwise shelve the maps that outline the threat in the first place.Host Nate Hegyi visits Juneau to see one example of why, across the country, even the most progressive Americans are rejecting tough truths about climate change when it comes knocking at their own back door.Featuring: Tom Mattice, Christine Woll, Eve Soutiere, and Lloyd Dixon. SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKSYou can check out Juneau’s new hazard maps, along with many of its neighborhood meetings, on their website. Dive into why the insurance industry stopped providing landslide coverage to Southeast Alaska.KTOO had a wonderful story on how a 1936 landslide that killed 15 people in Juneau became a faded memory.Zach Provant, a researcher at the University of Oregon, spent months investigating the rollout of Juneau’s hazard maps. CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported and produced by Nate HegyiEdited by Taylor Quimby and Katie ColaneriEditing help from Felix Poon and Justine ParadisRebecca Lavoie is our Executive ProducerMusic for this episode by Blue Dot SessionsOur theme music is by Breakmaster CylinderOutside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public RadioSubmit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

When it comes to protecting the biodiversity of Planet Earth, there is no greater failure than extinction. Thankfully, only a few dozen species have been officially declared extinct by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the half-century since the passage of the Endangered Species Act. But, hold on. Aren’t we in the middle of the sixth mass extinction? Shouldn’t the list of extinct species be… way longer? Well, yeah. Maybe.Producer Taylor Quimby sets out to understand why it’s so difficult to officially declare an animal extinct. Along the way, he compares rare animals to missing socks, finds a way to invoke Lizzo during an investigation of an endangered species of crabgrass, and learns about the disturbing concept of “dark extinctions.” Editor's Note: This episode was first published in October 2022. Since then, the US Fish and Wildlife Service officially delisted 21 of 23 proposed species due to extinction. The ivory-billed woodpecker was not one of them. Featuring Sharon Marino, Arne Mooers, Sean O’Brien, Bill Nichols, and Wes Knapp.

Shirtless influencers on TikTok and Instagram have acquired millions of followers promoting the carnivore diet. They say studies linking meat consumption and heart disease are flawed — and plant foods are making people sick. "Western medicine is lying to you," says content-creator Dr. Paul Saladino, who co-owns a company selling desiccated cattle organs.The online popularity of the carnivore diet is undeniable. Yet, no controlled studies have been published confirming its advertised benefits. Our friends at WBUR’s podcast Endless Thread look at how social media cooked up the anti-establishment wellness trend. SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKS"Red Shift" (The New Yorker)"The 'You’re doing it wrong'-ification of TikTok" (Vox)"The Evolution of Diet" (National Geographic)"Your Questions About Food and Climate Change, Answered" (New York Times)"Against Meatposting" (Heated)Endless Thread's unedited interview with Dr. Paul Saladino (WBUR) CREDITSOutside/In Host: Nate HegyiOutside/In Executive producer: Taylor QuimbyRebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand AudioThis episode of Endless Thread was written and produced by Dean Russell and Ben Brock Johnson. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public RadioEndless Thread is a production of WBUR in Boston. Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

Hemp used to be a staple of life in America. King James I demanded that colonists produce it. Hemp rope and fabric were ubiquitous throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The USDA even produced a WWII newsreel called “Hemp for Victory.”But other materials came to replace hemp – wood pulp for paper, and cotton and synthetics for fabric. Why?For that matter, what is hemp? Is it different from weed? And does it actually have 25,000 uses as its proponents claim?Featuring Hector “Freedom” Gerardo, David Suchoff, John Fike, and Danny Desjarlais. SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.LINKSLearn more about how the Lower Sioux Indian Reservation has worked with hempcrete, and how they hope it’ll transform their economy (Grist).The 2018 Farm Bill inadvertently led to a multibillion-dollar market of hemp-derived THC products. Twenty-two AGs are now calling on congress to fix the legal loophole that has “[forced] cannabis-equivalent products into our economies regardless of states’ intentions to legalize cannabis use.” (The Hill)Cannabis sativa in the US only came to be called “marijuana” in the early 1900s, when the anti-cannabis movement wanted to link it to its “Mexican-ness.” But, as The Mysterious History Of 'Marijuana' (NPR Code Switch) explains, the etymological origins of “marijuana” are still debated: does it come from the Chinese word ma ren hua? Or the Bantu word for cannabis: ma-kaña? Or something else?Hemp for Victory! (YouTube) CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported, mixed, and produced by Felix Poon.Editing by Taylor Quimby, with help from Rebecca LavoieOur staff includes Justine Paradis.Executive producer: Taylor QuimbyRebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio.Special thanks to Fitsum Tariku, Director of the Building Science Centre of Excellence.Music by Blue Dot Sessions, Mike Franklyn, Jules Gaia, Dusty Decks, and Rocket Jr.Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public RadioSubmit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

It’s that special time again! Scientists everywhere hold their breath as the team opens the Outside/Inbox and answers listener questions about the natural world. In this episode, we consider Flaco the Eurasian eagle owl, an impulsive goat purchase, and a big night for salamanders. Plus, we’re graced with Nate’s rendition of a Tom Waits song. Questions:What would NYC look like in 50 years if humans disappeared?What if the earth had no moon?Could humans survive a worst-case climate scenario?Do birds have regional accents?How do we keep wildlife safe when crossing the road?Featuring Stephon Alexander, Luke Kemp, Chris Sturdy, and Sandi Houghton. SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member. Subscribe to our (free) newsletter.Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKSCheck out these gorgeous visualizations created by the Mannahatta Project, which has since been renamed the Welikia Project.Flaco the Eurasian eagle owl died after crashing into a building earlier this month. His autopsy revealed his body to be riddled with rodenticide and pigeon herpes, cementing his status as “a real New Yorker” for some observers. Still, building collisions, rat poison, and disease are all major risks for birds of prey in urban environments. CREDITSOutside/In host: Nate HegyiReported and produced by Felix Poon, Taylor Quimby, and Justine Paradis Mixed by Justine ParadisEdited by Taylor Quimby and Rebecca LavoieNHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca LavoieMusic by blacksona, Katori Walker, Bisou, Young Community, Diamond Ortiz, Brightarm Orchestra, Kevin MacLeod, Tellsonic, Walt Adams, and ProleteR. Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

To save for retirement, common knowledge says to “diversify your portfolio.” Give your cash to a company so they can invest it into hundreds of other companies on the stock market. But unless you’ve gone out of your way to change it, your portfolio probably has little to do with your values. For example, there are climate activists invested in fossil fuel companies. Staunch vegans putting some of their hard-earned income into Tyson Foods. On the flip side, there are climate deniers with money in Tesla!So is there a way to save for retirement that’s both good for your pocketbook… and good for the planet?Featuring: Timothy Yee, Clara Vondrich, Kelly Shue SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKSDivestment helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the coal industry, according to this white paper from the Harvard Business School. However, divestment can also backfire, according to this study from Yale. Got a lot of time to kill? You can watch the recent SEC commissioner meeting where they voted to pass a weakened version of the climate disclosure rule. CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported and produced by Nate HegyiMixed by Nate Hegyi and Taylor QuimbyEditing by Taylor QuimbyOur staff includes Justine Paradis and Felix Poon Executive producer: Taylor QuimbyRebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand AudioMusic by Blue Dot SessionsOur theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

Editor's Note: This episode first aired in July, 2023With 'Oppenheimer,' director Christopher Nolan turned the Manhattan Project into an Academy-Award-winning blockbuster. The film is set in Los Alamos, where the first atomic bomb was tested. But few people know the history of Carrizozo, a rural farming area downwind of the test.Radioactive fallout from the bomb settled on everything: the soil, gardens, and drinking water. Cow’s milk became radioactive. Later, hundreds of people developed radiogenic cancers. The people of Carrizozo were among the first people in the world exposed to a nuclear blast. More than 75 years later, their families are still fighting for medical compensation from the federal government.Host Nate Hegyi traveled to New Mexico to visit the Trinity Site, and to hear the stories of so-called ‘downwinders.'Featuring: Paul Pino, Tina Cordova, Ben Ray Lujan SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook.Submit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837). LINKSRead more about RECA (the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act) which passed in the U.S. Senate this March. (Idaho Capital Sun)The federal government has produced a few studies on the fallout from Trinity. This one from Los Alamos found that there was still contamination in the area in 1985. Another, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, produced one of the most in-depth histories of the fallout from Trinity and the government’s reaction.The National Cancer Institute found that hundreds of people likely developed cancer because of the fallout. The history of Trinity is full of strange little details, like the desert toads that were croaking all night. You can find affidavits and first-hand accounts of the fallout from Trinity at the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium website. This review by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists explains why it’s so hard to determine a definitive death toll for the USI bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII. CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported and produced by Nate HegyiEdited by Taylor QuimbyEditing help from Rebecca Lavoie, Justine Paradis, Felix Poon, and Jeongyoon HanRebecca Lavoie is our Executive ProducerMusic for this episode by Blue Dot SessionsOutside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio

If you grew up with family members who pushed (or dragged) you onto the trail, chances are you have strong memories associated with hiking. Epic vistas… swarms of black flies… and your dad’s terrible homemade gorp. Whether you grow up to see them as personal triumphs or family fiascos, those early adventures can shape your perception of the outdoors for life.Can parents shape kids into hardcore hikers? And what happens when your best-laid plans go off the map?Featuring Sarah Lamagna, Nick Capodice, Daisy Curtin, Niles Lashway, Sarah Raiche, Tiffany Raiche, and Phineas QuimbySUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKSIf you liked Sarah Lamagna’s tips on how to hike with children, you’ll find more in her recently published guidebook. CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported, produced, and mixed by Taylor QuimbyEdited by Rebecca LavoieOur staff includes Justine Paradis and Felix Poon.Executive producer: Taylor QuimbyRebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand AudioMusic by Blue Dot Sessions, The New Fools, and SINY. Our theme music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public RadioSubmit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).

A century ago, coastal dunes threatened to overwhelm the city of Florence, Oregon. The sand swallowed roads, highways, and houses. When “Dune” author Frank Herbert visited the area in 1957, he was stunned by the awesome power of the sand. Eventually, it inspired his fictional desert planet, Arrakis.But now, the dunes that inspired “Dune” are disappearing. To solve the sand problem, the US Forest Service planted dunes with non-native beachgrass, hoping its strong roots would keep the dunes in place. The strategy worked… too well. The grass spread, out-competing native species and transforming the dunes. At one popular spot, roughly 60% of what was once open sand is now gone.Producer Justine Paradis traveled to the Oregon Coast to see the mountains of sand which inspired a sci-fi classic, and meet the people working to save them.Featuring Dina Pavlis, Patty Whereat Phillips, and Jesse Beers. SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member. Subscribe to our (free) newsletter.Follow Outside/In on Instagram or Twitter, or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKSThese aerial photos demonstrate the dramatic changes in the Oregon dunes since 1941.Dina Pavlis’ Secrets of the Oregon Dunes Facebook pageThe Oregon dunes are the setting of an episode of “Lassie” (1964), in which a little girl gets lost in a sand storm. New hires at the Forest Service in Florence are shown this film during orientation.The Siuslaw Public Library in Florence is home to the eclectic Frank Herbert collection, as reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting. These are books donated by Herbert’s daughter which he was reading at the time he wrote ‘Dune,’ and are available to the public. Fans make the pilgrimage to browse the collection, which includes titles on the desert, politics in the Middle East, computation, Scottish folk singing, rug hooking, and much more.Frank Herbert originally visited Florence to research a proposed magazine article on the Forest Service’s dune, as reported on the Siuslaw News. His (unsuccessful) proposal, “They Stopped the Moving Sands,” can be read in “The Road to Dune.”An episode of Endless Thread about the time a six-year-old boy fell into a tree hole (he’s fine now) in Michigan City, Indiana. CREDITSOutside/In host: Nate HegyiReported, produced, and mixed by Justine Paradis Edited by Taylor Quimby and Katie ColaneriOur team also includes Felix Poon. NHPR’s Director of Podcasts is Rebecca LavoieSpecial thanks to Meg Spencer, Kegen Benson, Armand Rebischke, and Kevin Mittge. Music by Sarah the Illstrumentalist, Elm Lake, Chris Zabriskie, and Blue Dot Sessions.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public Radio.

In the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York, dozens of strangers gathered together in the woods for three straight days. Their mission? Teach people of color how to kill, gut, and butcher a deer for the first time.Producer Felix Poon was there as a first-time hunter. He wanted to know: what does it feel like to take an animal's life to sustain your own? Given the opportunity… would he pull the trigger?In this episode we follow Felix out of his depth and into the woods, to find out if one weekend can convert a longtime city-dweller into a dedicated deer hunter.Featuring Dorothy Ren, Brandon Dale, and Brant MacDuff. SUPPORTOutside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to become a sustaining member of Outside/In. Subscribe to our newsletter (it’s free!).Follow Outside/In on Instagram or join our private discussion group on Facebook. LINKSLydia Parker, executive director of Hunters of Color, discusses how to make the outdoors more equitable. (The Nature Conservancy)Melissa Harris-Perry talks to Brandon Dale, the New York ambassador for the Hunters of Color organization, on WNYC’s The Takeaway.CREDITSHost: Nate HegyiReported, produced, and mixed by Felix PoonEdited by Taylor Quimby, with help from Rebecca Lavoie.Our staff also includes Justine ParadisTaylor Quimby is our Executive ProducerRebecca Lavoie is NHPR’s Director of On-Demand Audio.Music for this episode by Blue Dot Sessions, Hanna Lindgren, and Walt Adams.Outside/In is a production of New Hampshire Public RadioSubmit a question to the “Outside/Inbox.” We answer queries about the natural world, climate change, sustainability, and human evolution. You can send a voice memo to outsidein@nhpr.org or leave a message on our hotline, 1-844-GO-OTTER (844-466-8837).